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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Brayden Nelson
3
Fort Hays State FHSU 3-34, 2-25 MIAA
18
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 27-14, 17-10 MIAA
Fort Hays State FHSU
3-34, 2-25 MIAA
3
Final
18
Central Oklahoma UCO
27-14, 17-10 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Fort Hays State FHSU 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 5 2
Central Oklahoma UCO 1 3 3 0 0 11 X 18 12 0

W: Nelson, Brayden (4-0) L: Taylor,Jake (0-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Tears Apart Tigers

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma baseball team spent the day Saturday tearing apart of the Tigers of Fort Hays State, winning the final game of a three-game Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association series 18-3 in a seven-inning run-rule at Wendell Simmons Field.
 
It's the most runs scored by Central this season and the most since April of last year.
 
"It's good to see the bats finally come around," UCO head baseball coach John Martin said. "We haven't been great at the plate this year, but to do this today, that was fun, and it's good to see the guys get it going."
 
Central Oklahoma scattered 12 hits off of Fort Hays State Saturday. The Bronchos top four hitters in the lineup tallied seven of those hits. UCO also added 11 more base runners thanks to five walks and six hit batsmen.
 
Philip Scott led the charge. He went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles. He scored twice and added one RBI. TJ Black, who batted in each of the first three innings, finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. TK McWhertor, who like Scott and Black, also batted in each of the first three innings, went 1-for-3 with three runs scored and added two RBIs. And Kyle Crowl went 1-for-4, however, his one hit was a three-RBI double.
 
Brayden Nelson was awarded the win Saturday. He threw five innings, allowing just two hits and one run. He struck out eight and didn't issue a single walk. Nelson is now 4-0 on the season.
 
Spencer Van Scoyoc threw one inning of relief work. He struck out two. Junior Obeso also struck out two in one inning out of the bullpen.
 
UCO jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Black led off the game with a single, and Scott followed with the same. McWhertor then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up a bag. With one out, Paul Kropf drew a walk, and then Brock Ruminer got hit by a pitch to score the game's first run.
 
The Bronchos would kick it up a notch in the next two innings.
 
Avila led off the second getting hit by a pitch, then Black drew a one-out walk, and McWhertor drew a two-out walk. That's when Crowl smacked a deep fly ball to center field. The crowd awaited a grand slam. The ball came up just short of the fence. Crowl had a three-RBI double and UCO led 4-0.
 
In the third, Ruminer led off with a first-pitch-swinging home run over the fence in left center to make it 5-1. After Joe Mondragon drew a walk, Avila knocked a 1-1 pitch to left center to score Mondragon and make it 6-1. Avila would get picked off on the bases, but Kace Massner drew a walk and after stealing second, Black drilled a ball to center that scored Massner and made it 7-1, Bronchos.
 
It remained that way to the bottom of the sixth inning. Then UCO put on a clinic.
 
Scott led off the inning with a double down the left field line. McWhertor reached on an error after that. Crowl popped up to center, but moved Scott on the tag over to third. After Kropf got hit by a pitch, Ruminer connected on a pitch and drove it to center to score Scott and McWhertor and make it 9-1, UCO.
 
Mondragon then got hit by a pitch to re-load the bases, and Avila smashed a double to left field. The ball bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double, so Kropf and Ruminer scored. Mondragon held at third, but the Bronchos led 11-1.
 
Dru Barrier then pinch-hit for Massner and he was hit by a pitch, once again loading the bases.
 
Black flied out to left on the next play, but scored Mondgragon for a sacrifice-fly that made it 12-1. The Scott, batting for the second time in the inning, nailed a 2-2 pitch to left center, doubling home Avila to make it 13-1.
 
McWhertor followed with a double of his own to score Barrier and Scott and give UCO a 15-1 lead.
 
Central wasn't done.
 
Ryan Harrel pinch-hit for Crowl and he reached on an error by the FHSU shortstop. Kropf was up next and looked at a first-pitch strike. He then watched three balls go by before fouling off the next pitch to reach a full-count. On the next pitch, Kropf turned on it and drilled his eighth home run of the season – a three-run shot to left field – and gave the Bronchos an 18-1 lead in the game.
 
The final numbers for the sixth – 11 runs on six hits, and two errors.
 
Central Oklahoma improved to 27-14 with the win and is now 17-10 in the MIAA. The Bronchos will make two, short road trips next week for non-conference games at Oklahoma Baptist on Monday, and at East Central on Tuesday. UCO will then return to MIAA play to host Washburn next weekend in the final regular season homestand of the 2019 season.
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